As of Tuesday, Suchomel said, Amazon had taken down all I.P.G. ebooks from its site, but it was still selling print books from I.P.G. clients, according to Publishers Marketplace, which first reported Amazon’s move.

Amazon’s action is only the latest struggle between the giant e-seller and publishers.

The dispute is reminiscent of another spat in 2010, when six publishing houses pushed prices up with their insistence on the agency pricing model, where the publisher sets a single price and discount schedule across retailers. Amazon dropped Macmillan titles from its site during pricing negotiations, but eventually backed off.

Amazon's latest salvo is significant because it send a message to distributors and publishers “that it is willing to delist digital books at a time when e-books are the fastest growing segment of the publishing business,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

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